Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Whether it is antisocial behaviour, crime or wider issues we are dealing with, we need to ensure we have that multi-agency approach. We have seen this in the task force in the north inner city, the Vivian Guerin report on Drogheda and, more recently, the piloting of community safety partnerships. This is a structure that works. With the support of Government, it brings State agencies together with An Garda Síochána, local communities and local businesses. We are asking communities what resources they need to keep them safe and what are the issues on the ground. It is specific to individual communities. A key component of the new Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2021 is enshrining this right throughout the country and ensuring that every community has a community safety partnership and sets out its own plan that will be supported and resourced through the agencies with An Garda Síochána and supported by Government.

We have recently seen results in Drogheda, where there have been significant levels of crime, great amounts of antisocial behaviour and deprivation in certain areas. Following on from a report that was built up by the community, we are now investing in educational services, we have seen increased numbers of gardaí, including community gardaí, on the ground and we have had successful applications to the community safety innovation fund, which is money being taken from criminals and put back into communities. That is the type of response people want. It deals with issues around antisocial behaviour and issues of deprivation because it does not just look at things from a justice perspective. It allows people to feel part of the process of improving safety in their own communities.

Problems have also arisen in a number of different areas in the Deputy's constituency, specifically in Darndale. A report was carried out on that community. We now need to make sure that the pilot programmes in Drogheda and the inner city are expanded quickly. There will be a number of smaller, more targeted pieces of work with regard to that multi-agency approach and the plans in communities. These will be rolled out over the coming weeks before being spread out more widely in the next year and a half so that every county will have that same type of approach, investment and commitment from Government.

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